Stocks Edge Up in Light Trading

U.S. stocks eked out tiny gains in light trading Friday before the holiday weekend, despite higher oil prices.

In other trading, the euro edged up from a seven-month low against the dollar, after a poll showed that French voters’ opposition to the European Union constitution weakened.

On Wall Street, share prices ended mostly higher, extending the market’s sharp rally since late April.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 4.95 points, or 0.1%, to 10,542.55. It was held back in part by Pfizer, which lost 55 cents, or 1.9%, to $28.35 after the drug maker said regulators might require a warning label about Viagra use and blindness.

The broader the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 1.16 points, or 0.1%, to 1,198.78.

Technology stocks remained the market’s leaders. The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index closed at 2,075.73, up 4.49 points, or 0.2%.

Winners topped losers by more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange and by 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. But there were few players in the market ahead of the long holiday weekend. Stock trading volume was the lowest since Dec. 31.

All U.S. markets will be closed Monday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

Crude oil prices rose for a fifth straight day, completing the biggest weekly gain in five, as U.S. refiners boosted gasoline output before the summer holiday season.

U.S. gasoline demand, which reaches its peak from Memorial Day through Labor Day, climbed to 9.4 million barrels a day last week, the highest this year, the government reported this week.

The rebound in oil prices accelerated Friday on a report that Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd had been taken to a hospital.

Near-term crude futures in New York rose 84 cents to $51.85 a barrel.

The slump in oil prices to three-month lows the previous week had helped to stoke the rally on Wall Street. Some analysts said that, even with oil rebounding somewhat, share prices are unlikely to suddenly pull back.

Oil isn’t “a problem for stocks,” said Doug Sandler, equity strategist at Wachovia Securities. “As long as it stays relatively constrained and we are not seeing $60, $70, $80 oil, we don’t think it’s a big crisis.”

For the week, the Dow was up 0.7%, the S&P; gained 0.8% and Nasdaq advanced 1.4%.

The market’s rally since late April has pared the year-to-date loss of the S&P; 500 to 1.1%.

The Treasury bond market also seemed to ignore oil prices Friday. The yield on the 10-year T-note ended at 4.07%, down from 4.08% on Thursday. The T-note yield hit three-month lows earlier in the week.

In currency trading, the euro ended at $1.258, up from $1.251 on Thursday.

France will vote Sunday on whether to approve the European Union constitution. The euro has been sliding in recent weeks, in part on concerns that French voters would reject the constitution, raising questions about the long-term prospects of economic unification in Europe.

A defeat would kill the treaty because it requires unanimous support from EU member states.

But French opposition to the treaty dropped to 52% from 55%, a new poll showed.

Among Friday’s market highlights:

* Energy stocks rallied with oil prices. ConocoPhillips jumped $2.47 to $107.55 and Burlington Resources was up $1.33 to $51.43.

* Other commodity-related shares also advanced. Inco gained 55 cents to $38.99 and U.S. Steel rose 77 cents to $40.36. Gold stocks were particularly strong as the dollar weakened.

* Pfizer’s slide didn’t have much of an effect on other drug stocks. Merck added 10 cents to $32.45; Eli Lilly was off 5 cents to $59.05.